Sunday, August 14, 2016

Dengue Insurance: A Necessity In Tropical Regions?


If you live in a tropical region where the healthcare system is not as good as “Obamacare”, is dengue insurance a good option?

By: Ringo Bones 

Filipino nurses in the United States who have benefited from Obamacare often wonder why the Philippine government isn’t working hard enough have a healthcare system as good as one established. But given that something like this is still currently “science fiction”, will a kind of dengue insurance like the Pioneer MediCash Dengue Insurance be the next best thing? 

Given that dengue fever has financially devastating consequences when it afflicts fixed income people in the Philippines, a disease specific health insurance policy with an affordable premium would be an excellent option. Recently, I’ve checked out if one is locally available in the Philippines and as luck would have it, I’ve stumbled upon the Pioneer Pioneer MediCash Dengue Insurance. It is basically a disease-specific health insurance that provides a lump-sum payout of PhP 10,000 (which is equivalent to a little over 200 US dollars) medical assistance in the event that the policyholder is diagnosed with dengue fever – even if the diagnosis does not require a hospital stay. 

And even if you already have an HMO like Philhealth, there is still value in availing oneself of Pioneer MediCash Dengue Insurance. You still get your PhP 10,000 lump-sum payout on top of your HMO and Philhealth benefits to take care of other medical expenses. Receipts or hospital bills are not required as MediCash pays with just a valid doctor’s diagnosis accompanied by the diagnostic test results. The Pioneer MediCash Dengue Insurance only costs PhP 350 a year – which works out to an insurance premium of less than one peso a day to be your basic health insurance against a common tropical disease like dengue. 

It is relatively easy to apply for the Pioneer MediCash Dengue Insurance, you just need to pay for an activation form at SM Bills Pay and complete the personal information form. No medical questionnaires are required. And when it comes to the beneficiaries, you, your family members, friends and household staff are eligible. When it comes to age requirement, applicants ages 1 to 70 are eligible. 

Unfortunately, like most health insurance policies, there are preexisting condition restrictions. Someone who already sick with dengue are ineligible for the PhP 10,000 benefit because the Pioneer MediCash Dengue Insurance has a 15-day waiting period, which means that the insured should not be feeling the symptoms of dengue, not be showing signs of dengue, not have consulted a doctor for dengue and not make a claim for dengue. 

To get the PhP 10,000 benefit, once you are insured over the 15-day waiting period and start feeling the symptoms and signs of dengue, you should consult a doctor. And then ask the doctor to complete the Claims Supplementary Medical Report (CSMR) which is like a medical certificate and comes with your Pioneer MediCash Coverage Summary. Then take a digital photo of your CSMR and the diagnostic results with your smartphone and then send the photo via email to reatail@pioneer.com.ph or viber to +63 917 5317213.